Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have reintroduced a bill that would designate PFAS as hazardous substances and force government cleanup of PFAS-contaminated sites.
The bill is identical to language the House has passed before, but its backers are hopeful a newly Democratic-controlled Senate will take it up, too.
“Setting drinking water standards and designating PFAS as hazardous substances under the EPA’s Superfund program will accelerate the clean-up process in communities and at military facilities all across this nation,” Dingell said, according to The Hill.
The bill calls for $200 million annually to help water utilities and wastewater treatment.
“We need an all-hands-on-deck effort to protect both human health and our environment,” Upton said, according to WKZO radio. “This bipartisan legislation will ensure we’re treating PFAS as a hazardous chemical and giving our agencies the resources to clean up sites for the betterment of our communities.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) is using past defense authorization language to renegotiate an agreement with the federal government that would require more cleanup of PFAS-contaminated sites in the state, as On Base reported.
Air Force photo by Ty Greenlees
